No.  1402 


CHURCH  OF  THE  SAVIOUR,  RIO  GRANDE  DO  SUL 


OUR  FARTHL5T  50UTH 

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllP^^ 

A SKETCH  OF  THE  WORK  OF  OUR 
CHURCH  IN  BRAZIL 

t 


THE  BOARD  OF  MI55ION5 

281  FOURTH  AVENUE  : : NEW  YORK 


ARGENTINE 


a IT  I A N aT 


OUR  FARTHEST  SOUTH 

THE  CHURCH'S  MISSION  TO  BRAZIL 

The  Republic  of  Brazil  is  larger  than 
THE  LAND  the  whole  of  the  United  States  with 
the  addition  of  another  Texas!  No 
brief  statement  could  adequately  describe  the  char- 
acter of  the  entire  country,  extending  as  it  does 
from  about  five  degrees  north  latitude  to  thirty-two 
degrees  south  latitude.  In  general,  however,  it  may 
be  said  of  the  southern  part  of  the  republic  (and 
even  Rio  de  Janeiro  is  well  to  the  south)  that  the 
country  is  largely  composed  of  great  grassy  plains 
rising  to  lofty  table  lands. 

The  state  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  where  most  of  our 
work  is  concentrated  at  the  present  time,  is  larger 
than  the  state  of  New  York.  Immediately  south  of 
it  lies  Uruguay;  immediately  west,  the  Argentine 
Republic.  It  has  a population  of  800,000  and  a 
climate  similar  to  that  of  our  own  gulf  states,  though, 
of  course,  the  seasons  are  reversed,  our  winter  being 
their  summer. 

Abundant  streams,  some  of  them  large,  navigable 
rivers,  abound.  The  soil  is  wonderfully  fertile.  All 
the  cereals  and  vegetables  of  our  own  country  fiourish 
there.  It  is  a land  of  fruits  and  fiowers.  Little 
extensive  cultivation,  however,  of  the  soil  is  attempted. 
Indian  corn  and  rice,  the  inevitable  black  bean  and 
the  valuable  manioc  root  are  the  principal  products. 
In  the  latitude  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  coffee  is  one  of  the 
great  products  and  articles  of  export.  The  plains 
lend  themselves  especially  to  cattle  raising.  The 
climate  is  so  favorable  and  the  grazing  so  good  that 
great  herds  of  cattle  thrive  without  much  care  and  at 
inconsiderable  expense. 


3 


The  people  of  Rio  Grande  are  a 
THE  PEOPLE  mixed  and  parti-colored  race,  made 
up  of  the  following  elements : Span- 
ish, Portuguese,  aboriginal  Indian,  African  slave, 
and  more  recently  of  German,  Italian  and  Polish 
immigrants.  The  Spanish  and  Portuguese  were  the 
progenitors  of  the  sturdy  and  honest  race  of  Gauchos, 
or  cowboys  of  the  plains,  among  whom  the  Church 
has  taken  such  firm  hold.  Through  intermarriage 
the  Indian  blood  still  survives  among  poorer  people. 
The  laboring  people  have  a strain  of  African  blood 
in  their  veins. 


The  Brazilian  children  show  the  beauty  of  their  Spanish  and  Portuguese  ancestry 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  MISSION 

In  the  autumn  of  1889,  two  graduates  of  the 
Virginia  Theological  Seminary  were  sent  out  under 
the  auspices  of  the  American  Church  Missionary 
Society  to  Southern  Brazil.  They  were  the  Rev. 
Lucien  Lee  Kinsolving  and  the  Rev.  James  W. 
Morris.  At  that  time  little  interest  was  felt  in  Latin 
America,  and  these  young  men  were  regarded  as  enter- 
ing upon  a desperate  and  rather  quixotic  undertaking. 


4 


Within  two  months  after  their  arrival  the  republic 
of  Brazil  was  declared,  the  whole  civil  fabric  reor- 
ganized, all  religious  disabilities  removed,  the  Church 
separated  from  the  State,  and  complete  liberty  of 
worship  guaranteed. 

The  missionaries  began  their  work  in  the  city  of 
Porto  Alegre,  the  capital  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  the 
most  southern  state  in  the  republic.  They  found  the 
people  ready  to  pay  attention  to  their  message  be- 
cause of  a spirit  of  religious  inquiry  and  interest  in 
the  air. 

In  1891  the  force  was  appreciably  strengthened  by 
the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  William  Cabell  Brown  and  the 
Rev.  John  G.  Meem,  and  by  1893  the  three  principal 
cities  of  this  state^ — Rio  Grande,  the  seaport,  a town 
of  20,000,  Pelotas,  about  forty  miles  distant,  with 
40,000  people,  and  Porto  Alegre,  having  75,000 
inhabitants — were  vigorously  occupied. 

In  1893  Bishop  Peter- 
THE  FIRST  EPISCOPAL  kin,  of  West  Virginia, 
VISITATION  at  the  request  of  the 

Presiding  Bishop  of  the 
Church,  made  an  episcopal  visitation  to  the  field. 
He  ordained  four  deacons,  and  confirmed  140  persons. 
He  gave  the  whole  work  a regular  organization.  It 
is,  indeed,  from  this  year  that  the  Brazilian  Mission, 
as  an  organized  body,  should  be  dated.  In  1906,  at 
the  request  of  the  American  Church  Missionary 
Society,  the  Board  of  Missions  took  over  the  work 
which  the  auxiliary  society  had  supported  so  faith- 
fully for  sixteen  years.  It  was  not  at  this  time  on 
the  same  footing  as  the  other  missions  undertaken 
by  the  Board,  but  was  an  independent  National 
Church,  and  for  several  years  was  under  its  own 
independent  bishop,  the  Right  Rev.  Lucien  Lee 
Kinsolving. 


THE  RIGHT  REVEREND  LUCIEN  LEE  KINSOLVING,  D.D. 
Bishop  of  Southern  Brazil 


In  1907,  the  council  of 
BISHOP  KINSOLVING  the  Brazilian  Church  de- 
cided to  ask  the  Church 
in  the  United  States  to  accept  the  work  in  Brazil  as 
one  of  its  missions.  The  General  Convention  of 
October,  1907,  agreed  to  do  this;  Bishop  Kinsolving 
resigned  as  a bishop  of  the  Church  in  Brazil  and  was 
elected  by  the  same  Convention  as  Missionary  Bishop 
of  Southern  Brazil.  He  still  retains  this  title,  although 
the  whole  republic,  not  only  the  single  state  of  Rio 
Grande  do  Sul  as  formerly,  is  now  the  field  of  the 
American  Church. 


THE  MISSION  POLICY 

When  a man  is  sent  to  open  a new  center  of  work,  his 
orders  are: 

“ Give  yourself  entirely  to  preaching  and  expound- 
ing the  Word  of  God.  Do  not  come  before  the 
people  as  a school  teacher.  Let  the  community  know 
you,  once  for  all,  as  a preacher,  a prophet,  an  official 
witness  to  Christ,  an  accredited  messenger  of  Christ’s 
Church.  Let  the  people  see  that  this  is  your  sole 
business  among  them.  You  are  to  do  this  one  thing — 
to  proclaim  the  good  news  of  salvation  in  Christ,  and 
to  invite  men  to  use  and  enjoy  the  reasonable  and 
reverent  faith  of  our  truly  Catholic  Church.” 

Experience  has  shown  that  for  best  results  it  is 
necessary  to  use  at  the  very  start  the  distinctive 
forms  of  the  Church’s  liturgical  worship.  For  awhile, 
the  missionaries  were  led  to  believe  that  these  people 
should  have  at  the  beginning  the  simplest  and  even 
the  barest  form  of  service.  This  was  found  to  be  a 
mistake,  the  ordered  form  of  worship  in  accordance 
with  the  Prayer  Book  being  particularly  effective 
among  the  Brazilians.  Liturgical  services,  by  vested 
clergy,  in  a well-arranged  place  of  worship,  appeal 
to  their  sense  of  propriety,  and  give  for  them  solemnity 
to  the  act  of  worship,  and  power  to  the  Word  preached 
and  expounded. 

For  a considerable  time 
TRANSLATING^HE  service  books,  containing 
SCRIPTURES  AND  Mo  rning  and  Evening 
THE  PRAYER  BOOK  Prayer,  with  selections 

from  other  parts  of  the 
liturgy,  tolerably  well  translated,  were,  by  ecclesi- 
astical authority,  put  in  use  throughout  the  mission. 

Later,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brown,  assisted  by  the  young 
Brazilian  presbyter,  the  Rev.  A.  V.  Cabral,  trans- 


7 


lated  very  beautifully  and  accurately  into  Portu- 
guese the  whole  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  This 
translation,  through  the  generosity  of  the  Bishop 
White  Prayer  Book  Society  of  Philadelphia,  and  of 
Mr.  James  Pott,  of  New  York,  was  published  and  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  people  in  1899.  Since  then  it 
has  been  in  use  in  all  the  Brazilian  congregations. 

When  a missionary  is 
HOW  A NEW  MISSION  deputed  to  open  up  a 
IS  OPENED  new  and  important  cen- 

tre of  work,  the  rule  is 
for  him  to  wait  until  he  can  establish  the  regulation 
services  of  the  Church.  He  is  to  delay  his  public 
preaching  until  he  can  begin  in  this  permanent  way. 
He  rents  a convenient  hall,  fits  it  up  for  a chapel,  and 
makes  preparation  for  a formal  opening  service.  He 
meets  and  visits  as  many  of  the  people  as  he  can, 
explains  in  private  what  he  is  come  to  do,  and  gathers 
as  many  as  he  can  interest  to  his  own  house  or  else- 
where for  the  practice  of  the  hymns  and  chants,  and 
for  instruction  in  the  order  of  the  service.  He  thus 
has  a number  of  people  ready  to  take  part  in  public 
worship. 

On  a specified  day,  after  wide  notice  given,  he  opens 
his  new  place  of  worship  with  an  inaugural  service. 
He  has  with  him  the  bishop,  and  as  many  as  possible 
of  the  other  clergy.  He  begins  with  the  regular  order 
of  Evening  Prayer,  which  will  be  reverently  and 
enthusiastically  participated  in  by  the  large  crowd 
assembled.  Then  the  bishop  and  others  deliver  ad- 
dresses explanatory  of  the  Church  and  her  ways, 
emphasizing  her  historical  position  and  her  apostolic 
heritage,  closing  with  an  earnest  presentation  of  the 
old,  ever  new,  message  of  salvation  in  Christ  Jesus. 


9 


I,  Rev.  W.  M.  M.  Thomas;  2,  Rev.  J.  M.  de  Mello ; 3,  Rev.  G.  M.  Krischke 
If,  Rev.  J.  B.  B.  da  Cunha;  5,  Rev.  H.  Tschornack ; 6,  Rev.  L.  Ferreira 
7,  Rev.  C.  H.  C.  Sergei;  8,  Rev.  J.  A.  Coelho ; 9,  Rev.  A.  M.  de  Fraga 
10,  Rev.  W.  Cahell  Brown,  D.D.;  11,  Right  Rev,  Lucien  Lee  Kinsolving,  D.D. 
12,  Rev,  J.  G.  Meem;  13,  Rev,  A,  V,  Gabral,  H,  Rev,  A,  J,  L,  Guimaraes 


10 


It  is  found  that  the  Church  put  before  a new  com- 
munity in  this  formal  and  official  manner  attracts 
attention  and  stimulates  inquiry  at  once,  and  that 
from  the  initial  service  there  is  a congregation  of 
regular  worshippers  gathered  together.  In  Brazil, 
the  great  majority  of  the  people  are  Christians,  but 
Christian  orphans,  the  church  of  their  birth  having 
left  them  unfed  and  uncared  for.  They  come  together 
readily  to  attend  the  services  of  the  Church,  and  thus 
it  grows  not  through  children  but  through  the  con- 
firmation of  men  and  women  of  mature  age. 

Bishop  Kinsolving’s 
AMERICAN  WORKERS  American  staff  consists 

of  the  Rev.  W.  Cabell 
Brown,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  J.  G.  Meem,  the  Rev.  W.  M. 
M.  Thomas,  the  Rev.  C.  H.  C.  Sergei,  and  Deaconess 
Mary  Packard.  Each  one  of  these  is  doing  great  work. 
Of  one  in  particular  the  bishop  says: 

‘‘The  new  version  of  the  New  Testament,  finished 
some  time  since  by  the  revision  committee,  of  which 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Brown  is  the  moving  spirit  and  chief 
collaborator,  is  in  great  demand.  About  75,000 
copies  were  sold  in  one  year.  I count  it  a high  honor 
that  the  Church  has  been  permitted  to  take  a leading 
and  formative  part  in  this  great  work  here.” 

The  Brazilian  clergy, 
BRAZILIAN  WORKERS  eighteen  in  number,  are, 

like  their  American  co- 
workers, a faithful  band.  Change  in  the  personnel  of 
the  mission — except  in  growth — is  rare.  The  picture 
of  Bishop  Kinsolving  and  his  clergy  on  the  opposite 
page  was  taken  six  years  ago.  That  without  exception 
the  men  shown  are  all  serving  in  the  mission  today 
speaks  well  for  both  bishop  and  clergy. 


n 


EVANGELISTIC  WORK 

The  Church’s  work  in  Brazil  is  carried  on  as 
follows:  There  are,  all  in  all,  35  stations  in  which 
1,258  communicants  are  administered  to  by  four 
American  and  fourteen  Brazilian  clergy.  A recent 
visitor  to  Brazil  reported  to  us  that  these  clergy  de- 
served special  notice  and  commendation.  They  are, 
he  tells  us,  doing  about  the  best  work  that  is  done  in 
the  field.  As  an  illustration  of  this  the  following 
items,  taken  from  the  Bishop’s  report,  even  though 
they  are  material  items,  are  eloquent. 

“In  Porto  Alegre,  the  con- 
SIGNIFICANT  FACTS  gregation  carry  the  fol- 
lowing items  of  self-sup- 
port: $1,000  per  annum  toward  the  support  of  the 
clergy,  and  about  $400  on  running  expenses. 

“In  Rio  Grande,  the  congregation  pay  $800  toward 
the  support  of  the  clergy,  and  over  $400  per  annum 
for  running  expenses. 

“In  Pelotas,  the  congregation  paid  last  year  $400 
of  the  debt  on  their  modest  parish  house;  $340  on  the 
salary  of  the  clergyman,  and  met  running  expenses 
to  the  amount  of  $400. 

“In  Santa  Maria,  they  have  bent  their  energies  on 
the  building  of  a rectory  which  relieves  the  Board  of 
$300  annually  for  house  rent;  they  contribute  $150 
to  the  support  of  a clergyman  and  carry  their  running 
expenses,  about  $300. 

“In  Bage,  the  congregation  pay  $260  for  clergy 
support;  have  purchased  a lot  valued  at  $4,000 
during  the  past  six  years,  and  are  doing  their  best  for 
a church  fund  which  will  relieve  the  Board  of  $400  per 
year  for  chapel  rent. 


12 


“The  congregation  of  the  Chapel  of  the  Redeemer 
averaged  last  year  in  their  contributions  to  Church 
work,  $291.26  per  communicant.  Yet  they  are  unable 
to  make  the  initial  outlay  for  the  acquiring  of  property 
in  so  expensive  a center  of  population  as  Rio  de 
Janeiro. 

“Every  other  Mission  station  does  what  it  can  for 
the  support  of  its  own  clergyman  and  contributes 
something  toward  the  support  of  the  general  mis- 
sionary, whose  salary  of  $1,200  per  annum  is  thus 
raised. 

“I  take  it  that  we  are  contributing  between 
$7,000  and  $8,000  annually  to  running  expenses  and 
the  support  of  the  ministry  in  this  field,  and  are 
putting  into  building  funds  about  $3,000  per  annum, 
which  will  as  soon  as  practicable  relieve  the  Board 
of  burdens  now  found  in  the  annual  estimates.” 

What  do  these  significant  facts 
mean?  They  mean  that  these  people 
are  tremendously  in  earnest,  not  that 
they  do  not  need  our  aid.  Though 
so  strong  in  love  for  their  Church, 
they  are  a feeble  folk  in  number. 

S ure  1 y we 
ought  to  give 
all  the  help 
in  our  power 
to  those  who 
are  so  ready 
to  help  them- 
selves. CHURCH  OF  THE  MEDIATOR,  SANTA  MARIA 


13 


EDUCATIONAL  WORK 

In  his  report  for  1912  the  Bishop  said: 

“During  the  past  year,  the  long-desired  organiza- 
tion of  educational  work  has  been  initiated.  In 
January  the  Rev.  J.  M.  de  Mello  founded  a Church 
school  in  Santa  Anna  do  Livramento,  to  which — 
without  my  previous  knowledge — he  gave  the  name 
of  ‘Collegio  Kinsolving.’  In  spite  of  such  a handicap, 
the  school  has  done  excellently  well  and  now  numbers 
85  day-pupils  of  both  sexes.  Mr.  Mello  has  unusual 
pedagogic  gifts  allied  to  rare  culture.  He  has  been 
able,  too,  to  develop  locally  two  assistants  for  his 
staff  who  are  entirely  supported  from  the  income  of 
the  school.” 

“In  Sao  Gabriel,  the  Rev.  Julio  d’  Almeida  Coelho 
opened  a small  parochial  school  for  boys  and  girls  in 
February  last. 

“In  Porto  Alegre,  in  March  last,  the  Rev.  W.  M.  M. 
Thomas,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Jose  B.  Leao,  founded 
the  first  boys’  boarding  school  attempted  by  this 
mission.  It  was  named  the  ‘Escola  Diocesana’  or 
Diocesan  School.  Day-pupils,  to  a limited  number, 
are  also  admitted.  The  matriculation  for  the  first 
year  amounts  to  forty. 

“This  is  the  most  ambitious  as  well  as  the  most 
complex  educational  problem  undertaken,  and  fills  a 
most  urgent  want.  Instruction  must  be  given  ab 
initio  and  new  methods  introduced  all  along  the  line. 
The  atmosphere  and  environment  of  a Church  home 
is  thrown  round  each  pupil,  night  and  day.  At 
present  the  Diocesan  School  occupies  a rented  build- 
ing on  a hill-top  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Porto  Alegre; 
a beautiful  locality,  and  with  spacious  grounds.  It 
is  hoped  that  before  long  a permanent  home  may  be 
secured  for  this  important  phase  of  the  work.” 


14 


RECAPITULATION 

In  closing  this  brief  statement 
THEN  AND  NOW  of  the  work  of  our  Church 
farthest  south,  it  is  well  to 
think  for  a moment  of  the  change  which  has  taken 
place  since  the  two  young  men  went  out  from  the 
Virginia  Seminary.  Then  there  were  no  Sunday 
Schools — now  our  Church  has  thirty-two.  Then  our 
whole  work  was  carried  on  in  a rented  room — now 
there  are  nine  church  buildings,  among  them  such 
fine  edifices  as  the  Church  of  Our  Saviour  at  Rio 
Grande  do  Sul  and  Trinity  Church  at  Porto  Alegre, 
besides  twelve  chapels  and  some  rented  rooms. 
Only  a few  years  ago  there  was  an  auto  dafe  of  Bibles, 
ordered  by  the  Roman  archbishop,  in  the  public 
square  of  one  of  the  largest  towns — now  75,000  copies 
of  the  New  Testament  are  sold  in  a single  year. 

It  is  a cause  for  thankfulness  that  in  the  twenty- 
four  years  of  our  work  in  Brazil  we  have  had  no 
controversy  with  our  Roman  brethren.  There  has 
been  no  proselytizing,  but  the  Roman  Church  has 
felt  the  impetus  of  public  opinion  and  is  no  longer 
neglectful  of  her  people. 

The  great  need  of  the  Brazil  mission  today,  in 
Bishop  Kinsolving’s  opinion,  is  more  schools.  A 
notable  beginning  has  been  made  without  asking  the 
Board  of  Missions  for  either  equipment  or  rent.  But 
much  more  needs  to  be  done.  In  Brazil  the  evan- 
gelistic work  has  outrun  the  educational  work.  The 
time  has  come  when  they  should  go  hand  in  hand  to 
insure  a healthy  growth. 


15 


THE  WORK  IN  BRAZIL 

May,  1914 


Bishop:  Right  Reverend  Lucien  Lee  Kinsolving,  D.  D. 
Rio  Grande,  R.  G.  do  Sul 
Brazil 


BAGE 

Rev.  a.  J.  L.  Guimaraes 

DOM  PEDRITO 
Rev.  J.  B.  Leao 

JAGUARAO 

Rev.  T.  O.  Machado 

LIVRAMENTO 

Rev.  j.  M.  de  Mello 

MEYER  (RIO  DE  JANEIRO) 

Rev.  C.  H.  C.  Sergel 

MONTENEGRO 

Rev.  a.  M.  Frag  a 

PELOTAS 

Rev.  Jose  S.  de  Silva 
Rev.  E.  a.  Bohrer 
Rev.  N.  d’Almeida 

PORTO  ALEGRE 

Rev.  W.  M.  M.  Thomas,  B.A.,  B.D. 
Rev.  a.  V.  Cabral 


RIO  DE  JANEIRO 

Rev.  W.  Cabell  Brown,  D.D. 
Rev.  John  G.  Meem 
Miss  Mary  Packard 
{Deaconess) 

RIO  DOS  SINOS 

Rev.  j.  B.  B.  da  Cunha 

SAO  FRANCISCO  DE  PAULA 

Rev.  a.  V.  Cabral 

SAO  GABRIEL 

Rev.  Julio  A.  Coelho 

SANTA  HELENA 

Rev.  H.  Zschornack 

SAO  JOSE  DO  NORTE 
Rev.  G.  U.  Krischke 

SANTA  MARIA 

Rev.  L.  Ferreira 

SAO  LEOPOLDO 

Rev.  j.  B.  B,  da  Cunha 

VIAMAO 

Rev.  a.  V.  Cabral 


STATISTICS 

Clergy:  American,  5;  Brazilian,  18 18 

Stations 31 

Communicants 1244 

Boarding  and  Day  Schools 2 

Sunday  Schools 38 

Appropriation  from  the  Board  of  Missions  ....  ^39,677 
Contributions  from  the  mission ^16,964 


This  parri'phlet  may  he  obtained  from  the  Literature  Department  Board  of  Missions, 
281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York.  Ask  for  No.  1j^02. 

All  offerings  for  missions  should  be  sent  to  Mr.  George  Gordon  King,  Treasurer, 
Church  Missions  House,  281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 

: 

3d  Ed.,  4-14,  5M.  R.P, 


